Comparison of 10B4C Neutron Monitors of Various Type for Nuclear Material Inspection in Cargo Container Using Monte Carlo Simulation

Abstract

Generally, the He-3 is mainly used as a reactant of a neutron monitor for detecting nuclear material inside a cargo container truck. However, the supply of He-3 has decreased since several years due to various reasons. Therefore, studies are being conducted to develop various alternative neutron detectors by many researching groups. Among the various neutron reactants, B-10 is suitable for use as an alternative neutron detection material due to its many advantages. However, in the case of the neutron detection method using B-10, it is necessary to make the B-10 thin because the path length of secondary radiations for signal detection is short in dense material. Therefore, to increase the neutron detection capacity, the neutron detector must be constructed in a multi-layer B-10 structure and is designed to optimal structure. In order to design an optimal structure, neutron detection capacity for various type neutron monitor should be calculated. The aim of this study is to calculate the neutron detection capacity of neutron monitor of various geometrical type for nuclear monitoring in cargo container using Monte Carlo simulation code.